Author Archives: recoverydiva

Canadian Oil-Sands Town on Fire

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Update on May 6: Here is the website for the Alberta Province, which contains situation reports on the fired.  I just learned that 49 wildfires are burning in the province. that must be a record!

Update on May 5: Up to 90,000 evacuated from Fort McMurray; some ordered to move again as fire spreads

May 4: From the Washington Post today, this article: A Canadian oil-sands town is on fire; 80,000 residents must evacuate.

This quite a scary situation, with the number of people affected jumping significantly each day.  As of 3pm today, the entire town – 88,000 were ordered out. Where and how do you handle that many evacuees?

Here is another article, from the HuffPost Canada, on the fire.  The photos are quite dramatic. And it looks like a lot of spontaneous offers of help from residents outside the fire zone.

A provincial declaration was issued in early evening.

 

 

The Rising Tide of Migration

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Presently, we are focused on migration of refugees from war and issues of statelessness. As this piece warns, we soon will be seeing refugees from sea level rise.

Emerging threats- As a rising tide of migration. Two excerpts:

With sea levels on the rise, several island nations are scrambling to stay above water and ensure citizens will have a place to go when the ocean engulfs their homeland. The humanitarian-crisis phase of climate change has officially begun.
In total, climate change may displace up to a quarter-billion people by 2050, according to research cited by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. That means, within our lifetimes, climate change could become a human rights emergency that grinds global governance to a halt. How the global community chooses to address this seemingly inevitable problem will help define international relations for the rest of this century.”

National Health Security and Preparedness Index

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National Health Security and Preparedness Index for 2016.

I had to hunt around for the details contained in the report. This summary chart provides an overview and a national map.

My home state, Virginia, ranks slightly above the national average, but below the national average for the component called Community Planning and Engagement. As a staff at the local OEM, that is not good news.

Thanks to Arnold Bogis for helping me find VA in the index.